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Dobson Announces Plans To Get More Involved In Partisan Politics

November2003People & Events

Radio counselor and Religious Right activist James C. Dobson is increasingly
dropping his fa\xe7ade of non-partisanship.

Dobson announced in October that he is considering taking a leave of absence
from Focus on the Family, the large, Colorado-based evangelical ministry that
he runs, to jump headfirst into campaigning on behalf of favored candidates.

Fears that same-sex marriage may soon become legal in the United
States apparently motivated Dobson's latest move. During
a Washington press conference, Dobson outlined his new direction.

"For 26 years, I have been the head of a non-profit organization, Focus on
the Family, which is, of course, limited in its ability to speak to political
issues," he said in a statement. "That, for me, is changing. I have resigned
as president of Focus on the Family. I am chairman of the board, but I'm prepared
to take a leave of absence and be involved in those races where there is an
obvious lack of understanding of the importance of the [gay marriage] issue,
wherever that takes me."

Dobson added that the gay marriage issue "may have to be fought out on the
political level, and if so, let's go for it."

Dobson has endorsed candidates for public office before as an individual,
but he apparently is considering ratcheting up his political activity. His
first effort, however, was a dud. Dobson endorsed California Sen. Tom McClintock
in that state's Oct. 7 recall election, but the right-wing Republican was soundly
dedfeated, coming in third place.

The winner was actor Arnold Schwarzenegger, who ran openly as a pro-choice
candidate who also favors some gay rights and forms of gun control positions
normally anathema to the Religious Right.

A bevy of other Religious Right heavy hitters backed McClintock, among them
Phyllis Schlafly, Randall Terry and Alan Keyes. McClintock also accepted funding
from Howard Ahmanson Jr., a California millionaire who is influential in the
Golden State's Religious Right.

Terry asserted that Schwarzenegger is little more than a Republican version
of former President Bill Clinton. Clinton was a frequent target for Religious
Right attacks during his eight years in office.

Terry said many in the Religious Right were supporting Schwarzenegger even
though they "know he believes in killing babies; that he will trash the Second
Amendment; he supports 'homosexual marriage' under the euphemism of 'domestic
partnerships.' In many ways, he is a Bill Clinton with an (R) after his name
instead of a (D). And yet they support him, because they are not people of
conviction."

California-based Religious Right minister Louis P. Sheldon also blasted Schwarzenegger.
The San Francisco Chronicle reported that Sheldon, who heads the Traditional
Values Coalition, ran television ads that showed the actor's face morphing
into that of unpopular Gov. Gray Davis.

"The ultimate message is there's no difference between Arnold Schwarzednegger
and Gray Davis, so what's the purpose of the recall?" Sheldon said.

Nevertheless, the far right's backing of McClintock's candidacy failed to
attract many voters in the general public, and he captured only 13 percent
of the vote. Exit polling data showed that most social conservatives voted
for Schwarzenegger.

In other news about the Religious Right:

The evangelical men's group Promise Keepers has a new leader.
Thomas S. Forston Jr., who has served as executive vice president since 1996,
was elevated to president and CEO Oct. 1.

Forston replaces Bill McCartney, a former college football coach who founded
the organization in 1991. The group drew huge crowds to its football stadium
rallies in the mid 1990s, but the numbers have since leveled off.